Mailbox stand



Feb. 24, 1970 LA vERN A; NASH MAILBOX STAND 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed061;.A 17. 1967 INVENTOR. LA VERN A. NASH ATTORNEYS v Feb. 24, 1970 LAvERN A. NASH 3,497,078

MAILBOX STAND Filed Oct. 1'7. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. LA VERN A.NASH ATTORNEYS 3,497,078 MAILBOX STAND La Vern A. Nash, 633 Garden St.,'Chippewa Falls, Wis. S4729 Filed Oct. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 675,930 Int.Cl. A47g 29/12, 29/00 US. Cl. 211--79 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A mailbox stand having an upright support secured tohorizontal telescoping tubular members. The telescoping connected to amailbox with fasteners. The carrier has a longitudinal base carrying asleeve telescoped over a stationary telescoping member. The forward endof the lbase is connected to the forward end of the movable telescopingmember.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION It is conventional practice in rural andsparsely settled towns and villages to support R.F.D. mailboxes onupright poles or posts adjacent the roads or streets where mail carrierscan conveniently place mail in the boxes from cars or trucks. In areasWhere there is an appreciable accumulation of snow, access to themailbox is difficult if not impossible Without changing the location ofthe mailbox relative to the snow drifts. This has been done bysupporting the mailbox post in a movable stand so that the mailbox alongwith the post and stand is moved out into the roadway as the snow driftsaccumulate. This presents a traffic hazard as well as interfering withthe plowing of the snow. With the conventional stationary mailbox, theresident must shovel and remove a considera'ble amount of snow toprovide convenient access for the mail carrier.

The object of the invention is to provide a sturdy lowcost mailbox standwhich is readily expandable to move the position of the mailbox alongwith the build-up of the snow drifts and yet at the same time provide anarea for the accumulation of snow that does not interfere with the snowplow. The mailbox is `conveniently shifted relative to the snow banks sothat the mail carrier does not have to iight the snow drifts to deliverthe mail. The stand is designed to be spaced from the curb to permit thegrading of the shoulders of the road during the temperate season of theyear.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The invention relates to lan extendible andcontractible apparatus for movably mounting a mail box on a support. Theapparatus comprises a first member connectable to the support andextended in a generally horizontal direction. Slidably mounted on theiirst member is a second member that forms with the first member an armwhich may be varied in length by extending or contracting the secondmember relative to the first member. A releasable means connects thefirst member to the second member to iix the length of the arm. Securedto the second member is a carrier adapted to support a mailbox. Thecarrier has slide means which cooperates with the first member to mountthe carrier on the first mem-ber whereby the carrier is supported byboth the first member and the second member.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the extendible mailbox support ofthe invention carrying a R.F.D. mailbox;

United States Patent O 3,497,078 Patented Feb. 24, 1970 ICC FIGURE 2 isan enlarged sectional View taken along the line 2-2 of the extendibleand contractible arm and carrier of the support of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 4-4 ofFIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing a modified mailboxcarrier.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in FIGURE 1 the mailbox standof this invention indicated generally at 10 supporting an R.F.D. mailbox11 above the ground 12 adjacent curb 13 of a road 14. Stand 10 comprisesan upright support 16 mounted in a solid base or anchor 17, as concrete,located in a hole above a gravel bed 18. The support 16 is a tubularpipe which extends through the concrete base 17 so that any water ormoisture which may accumulate in the pipe will drain into the gravel bed18. The support 16 is located adjacent the shoulder of the road 14 toprovide a substantial space between the curb and the support so thatroad grading machinery and snow plows can function without theinterference from the support.

Projected in a generally horizontal direction from the top of support 16is an expandable and contractible arm indicated generally at 19. Aconnector 21, as an elbow, mounts the arm 19 on the top of support 16.The mailrbox 11 is mounted on a carrier indicated generally at 22supported on the arm 19. The arm 19 together with the carrier 21 islongitudinally movable to change the position of the mailbox 11 relativeto the curb 13. This permits the mailbox to be moved out toward the roadas the snow bank 23 accumulates on the curb and shoulder of the road. Bykeeping the mailbox 19 aligned with the edge of the snow bank, themailbox is readily accessible to the mail carrier without the necessityof continuously moving large amounts of snow to provide access to themailbox. As the snow bank recedes, the mailbox 11 can be moved back overthe shoulder to its normal summer position. This is accomplished withoutdisassembly of the arm in a minimum of time and effort.

Referring to FIGURES 2 and 3, arm 19 comprises a first generallyhorizontal tubular member 24. The inner end of member 24 is secured tothe connector y21 so that the member projects in generally horizontaldirection toward the road 14. Slidably positioned or telescoped intubular member 24 is a second tubular member 26. The second member 26 ismovable in a linear direction with respect to the first member 24 so asto either contract or expand the length of arm 19. The second member hasa plurality of longitudinally spaced transverse holes 27 which areselectively aligned with a transverse hole 28 in the rst member 24 toreceive an eye bolt or pin 29. Pin 29 projects through the aligned holesto couple or connect the first member 24 with the second member 26. Thelength of the arm 19 is changed by merely removing the eye bolt 24 andaligning selected holes 27 and 28 according to the desired length of thearm. This changes the position of the mailbox 11 with respect to theside of the road 14.

Supported 0n arm 19 is the carrier 22 comprising an elongated linearback or base 31 secured at its outer end to a cap 32. The outer end oftubular member 26 is attached by a weld or similar means to the cap 32.Preferably cap 32 is a cup-shaped plug having a closed end. The bottomside of cap 32 has a drain hole 35 leading into tu-bular member 26. Anupright slide means 33 in the form of a split sleeve is secured to theinner end of base 31 thereby positioning the base over the arm 19. Asshown in FIGURE 4, slide means 33 surrounds the first tubular member 24with a loose slide lit and has a small slit or opening 34 on the bottomside opposite the back 31. The slit serves as a passageway for thedrainage of moisture and water which may accumulate on the tubularmember 24 which in cold weather would prevent the adjustment of theextendible arm 19 to change the position of mailbox 11.

.Returning to FIGURES 2 and 3, a pair of transverse brackets 36 and 37secured to the outer end of the back 31 form supporting members for themailbox. The brackets 36 and 37 have upwardly projected ears 38 and 39respectively at their opposite ends with holes to receive fasteningmembers as nuts and bolts used to attach the mail box to the brackets.

The upper and inner portion of the arm .19 and carrier 22 is enclosedunder an elongated shield 41 secured to the top of the rear portion ofback 31. The shield as shown in FIGURE 1 extends from adjacent the backof mailbox 11 and over the slide means 33 thereby protecting telescopingparts of the arm from accumulating ice, sleet, slush, snow and the like.

Referring to FIGURE 5, there is shown a modified mailbox carrierindicated generally at 42 for supporting a pair of side-by-sidemailboxes. The carrier 42 is mounted on an extendible and contractiblearm indicated generally at 43 secured to an upright support or postsimilar to the support 16 shown in FIGURE l. The arm `43 comprises afirst generally horizontal tubular member 44 slidably accommodating asecond tubular member 45. A transverse eye bolt or pin 46 is used toreleasably secure the first tubular member 44 with the movable secondtubular member 45. The carrier 42 has an elongated base or back 47located linearly above the arm secured at its forward end to arectangular frame 48. The forward cross member of frame 48 is connectedto a cap 49 attached to the forward end of tubular member 45. The rearor inner end of base 47 is secured to a slide means or split sleeve 51slidably located about the first tubular member 44. Sleeve 51 is similarto the sleeve 33 shown in FIGURE 4. The carrier 42 is used to support apair of side-byside mailboxes on the arm 43. The mailboxes are attachedto pairs of transverse brackets 52, 53 and 54, 56, secured to the frame48. Each end of each bracket has an upwardly projected ear 57 having ahole for receiving a fastening means used to attach the mailbox to thebracket.

In use, the arm 19 is attached to an upright support or post andextended toward the side of the road. In the temperate portion of theyear, the arm is in a telescoped relationship as shown in full lines inFIGURE l. The inner tubular member 26 is located within the outertubular member 24. The pin 29 holds the members in assembledrelationship. In this position, the shield 41 covers the back 31 and theslide means 33. With the carrier attached to the cap 32 and mounted onthe first tubular member 44, mailbox 11 is rigidly supported. Thecarrier also permits the inner tubular member 26 to be telescoped up tothe cap 32. This results in the maximum contraction of the arm 19without sacrificing rigidity and stability of the carrier used tosupport the mailbox.

During the winter months of the year, snow accumulates on the shoulderand is plowed off the road into banks in the general vicinity of themailbox support. To provide convenient access to the mailbox for themail carrier, the arm 19 is extended by removing pin 29 and sliding thecarrier and second tubular member 26 outwardly until the mailbox ispositioned over the edge of the snow bank as shown in broken lines inFIGURE 1. The pin 29 is then renserted through the aligned holes in thetubular members 24 and 26 to hold the mailbox in its Selected extendedposition. The second tubular member 46 being provided with a pluralityof longitudinally spaced transverse holes 27, as shown in FIG- URE 3,can be adjusted in a number of extended positions so that the locationof the mailbox 11 may be varied in accordance with the' position of thesnow bank on the road. Thus, the mailbox is never extended beyond thepoint where it is a hazard to traic on the road.

While there has been shown and described a mailbox stand as applied topreferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood thatvarious omissions, changes and substitutions in parts and materials maybe made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit ofthe invention. For example, the movable member may telescope over thefixed member of the arm, the cross section of the members may vary fromsquare to circular or hexagonal and the members may be made of metal,plastic or wood. The upright support may be a post of metal, plastic orwood. Also, the shield can be eliminated or attached to the mailbox. Theinvention is defined in the following claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows.

1. An apparatus for movably mounting a mailbox on a support comprising:a first member connected to the support for extension in a generallyhorizontal direction, a second member mounted in sliding linear relationwith the first member whereby the first member supports the secondmember in varying horizontal positions, means releasably connecting thefirst member with the second member, a mailbox carrier having a boxsupport member secured to the second member, a slide means embracing thefirst member in linear sliding relationship and elongated meansconnecting the box support member and slide means to mount the carrieron the first member whereby the carrier is supported by the first memberand second member and shield means mounted on the carrier to cover thetop of the slide means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the rst member and the second memberare telescoping tubular members.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the carrier is secured to theforward end of the second member and includes an elongated back locatedabove the second member, said back secured to the top of the slidemeans.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first member is a tubularmember and said slide means is a sleeve means surrouding the firstmember with a slide fit.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said sleeve means has a slit alongthe bottom side thereof.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said carrier includes a bracketmeans securable to a mailbox.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said carrier includes a frame, and aplurality of bracket means secured to the frame for carrying a pluralityof mailboxes.

A8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the shield means is an elongatedcurved member covering the slide means and a portion of the firstmember.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 in combination with an upright supportanchored in the ground and a connector means for attaching the firsttubular member to the upper portion of the support.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first member is a first pipeconnected to the support and said second member is a pipe telescopedwithin the first pipe.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 898,486 9/1908 Lanier 248-145979,565 12/1910 Rogers 248-145 1,170,030 2/1916 Wilcox 248-145 1,731,68210/ 1929 Pendergrass 248-128 3,227,284 1/1966 Smith 211-71 3,289,98812/1966 MCKenney 248-145 CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl.X.R.

